Mumbai rail roko now off, students asked to apply in hiring drive: Updates

Mumbai railway traffic resumed between Dadar and Matunga after scores of agitating students blocked rail traffic, including suburban services between the two stations earlier in the day, causing difficulties to hundreds of thousands of Mumbai local commuters. The agitation by students, seeking permanent jobs in Indian Railways, was called off at 10.35 am but not before the rail blockade forced the Railways to stop the suburban and express trains in the affected section between Matunga and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) for hours.

Railways officials have told a national daily that they are running special trains for the Kurla station in the down direction. They added that they are diverting railway traffic from Dadar station in the up direction.

According to Railways officials, the entire four lines between Matunga and CSMT have been affected, while police and Railways officials are conducting talks with the agitating railway job aspirants.

Students shouting slogans against the Railways held up placards demanding a one-time settlement from GM quota and said that they were demanding jobs from the government.

Meanwhile, the BEST has deployed extra buses to ferry commuters to and fro from various points like Dadar, Matunga, Kurla, Sion and other stations. The protests threw out of gear the entire suburban and long distance railway schedules in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Pune with commuters stranded for hours.

The opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have demanded a discussion on the issue in the Maharashtra Legislature on a priority basis.